Dear Reader Column 07-25-07

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Dear Reader,

When I'm writing a column it can go in two different directions: the truth or what I wished the truth was. Writing about what I wished the truth was--is the toughest thing for me to do.

I can change the ending if I need to; finesse the story so it feels better than what really happened, so I no longer need to feel embarrassed for the people in it. Or I can write a story through the innocent eyes of a little girl, who's pretending, but still--I know the truth.

My story may be part fairy tale, but fairy tales have their place. Make-believe so hard 'til I really believe it's true, those stories give me hope, they replace the memory with a rewrite of how I wished things would have been. How I imagine most people wish things would be.

Writing the truth is easy when everyone is happy by "The End." It makes a wonderful story. But some stories in my life, oh how I wish someone would have written them differently a long time ago, and not left it up to me. Because writing about what I wished the truth was--is the toughest thing for me to do.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
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http://www.DearReader.com

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Comments

[Sharon]

Suzanne, I think if you read "The Glass Castle", MSNBC.com journalist Jeannette Walls's autobiographical account of her truly dysfunctional family, you'll gain an understanding of how writers can be completely honest about the dark stuff and still leave readers not only upbeat, but inspired. This is not a how-to or a self-help; it's simply a narrative on her life with judgment on her parents refreshingly suspended.

It certainly resolved the dilemma you discussed here for me and I'd go so far as to say that it's the most important book I've read both in terms of telling the tale and in managing my own issues in years.